Forgotten Journeys - Batman: Arkham Origins

I mentioned within a certain review I wrote a while back that I periodically like to showcase games here on Phenixx Gaming that I consider to be underrated, under-represented, or just downright forgotten about. To that end, this article marks the debut of a mini-series of sorts which I’ve taken to calling “Forgotten Journeys.” This series will primarily focus on titles that I personally don’t think ended up receiving the recognition they deserved when they initially released.

By that, I partially mean titles present within otherwise well-known franchises that hardly anyone acknowledges in favor of their more prominent brethren. I should emphasize, however, that articles within this series do not constitute full reviews of any game I elect to cover in this context. With those concepts in mind, I could think of no better candidate for a game with which to debut a series such as this than Batman: Arkham Origins.

You might be familiar with the article I wrote this past July wherein I presented a selection of games I personally recommend that were decently discounted during this year’s Steam Summer Sale. Within that article, I elected to have all four games in the Batman: Arkham franchise share a place on that list simply because I adore the entire series. While doing so, you might recall that I went on a bit of a tangent in regards to the so-called Batman: Arkham Collection.

I primarily went on that tangent because the collection in question only contains three games in the franchise, yet it presents itself as a complete collection. I took issue with that because this bundle entirely excludes Arkham Origins and its DLC. It’s omissions like this that seem to solidify Arkham Origins’ unfortunate reputation as the runt of the Arkham franchise litter, so to speak.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that there exist quite a few significant alterations present between Arkham Origins and the three more well-known games which compose the franchise as a whole. I’d also like to think I understand why these differences may have hurt Arkham Origins’ potential to succeed. As an example, I know a fair few of the eight assassins hired by Black Mask to eliminate Batman can justifiably be considered “bottom of the barrel” inclusions as opposed to some of the bigger names in Batman’s rogues gallery.

Beyond that, I personally don’t think any game in the Arkham franchise needed a multiplayer mode by any stretch of the imagination. Despite that, Arkham Origins contains exactly such a game mode, and I still can’t help but wonder what the rationale was behind its inclusion. However, I still find myself passionately arguing that Arkham Origins is an exceptionally solid Batman game in its own right, regardless of how much different it is from the bigger titles in the franchise.

I’m well aware that a Batman game in which the titular Dark Knight has no clue who the Joker is can very easily be considered a strange decision on the part of Arkham Origins’ developers. After all, it certainly seems to me that Batman’s origin story and at least some portion of his long-standing history with the Joker are almost universally known; that may understandably lead some of you to question the need for a prequel game within the Arkham series.

On a final note, the main reason I elected to write this article is the fact that I want to draw what I consider to be well-deserved attention to a respectable game based on a legendary intellectual property. I would argue that you owe it to yourself to at least give Arkham Origins a fair shot if you consider yourself any degree of a Batman fan. You never know; perhaps you’ll end up considering it your favorite title in the entire franchise.